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He got a free coronavirus test. Then he got a bill for $857

Ricky Bean never really thought he had the coronavirus, but he knew the smart move was to be sure.

It was early March, before the virus had spread far in Tennessee. Bean had just returned home from visiting his in-laws in Florida, where he had become sick with a dry cough, a sore throat and night sweats that he suspected were the result of a mild fever.

“It made it a very easy decision once I knew it was covered,” he said. “I figured I had nothing to lose.”

As it turns out, that wasn’t quite right.

Ricky Bean saw a news article that said insurance companies across Tennessee agreed to fully cover the cost of coronavirus testing. “It made it a very easy decision once I knew it was covered,” he said. “I figured I had nothing to lose.” As is turns out he also needed lab work done that after insurance cost him over $850.(Photo: Larry McCormack / The Tennessean)

Bean, 62, of Murfreesboro, was one of the first 70 people in Tennessee to be tested for the coronavirus, which has since spread throughout the state. Although his test was covered by his insurance as promised, Bean was still billed $857 for a flu test and an upper respiratory panel that his doctor required before testing him for the coronavirus. These costs fell within Bean’s deductible, so he begrudgingly paid.

“If they are still requiring this before you get a coronavirus test, then people need to know about it. Because if they are like me, they are going to be shocked when they get such a large bill,” Bean said. “A lot of people don’t have that kind of money.”

Major insurance companies in Tennessee have vowed to fully cover the cost of coronavirus testing, but that full coverage does not necessarily extend to other tests. The largest insurer in the state, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, confirmed customers may still be billed for other tests they receive during an assessment for the coronavirus, but stressed not all doctors conduct these other tests beforehand.

The coronavirus is a pandemic that continues to impact life in Tennessee in a variety of ways. The USA Today Network newsrooms in Tennessee are uniquely positioned to cover this crisis. We're providing this critical information for free. To support our mission, please consider a subscription. For more information on COVID-19, please visit cdc.gov/coronavirus.

“That may continue to evolve as more dedicated testing sites become available in Tennessee,” said Roy Vaughn, a BlueCross spokesman. “Our goal is to keep costs from serving as a barrier to testing, so as with other COVID-19 issues, we’re monitoring this situation and prepared to make changes as necessary to serve our members well.”

Checking for flu and respiratory illnesses before testing for the coronavirus is largely a tactic used to preserve test materials, which at times have been in short supply in Tennessee and the nation. Bill Christian, a spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Health, said doctors are not required to conduct flu tests or respiratory panels before testing for the coronavirus but stressed that testing for common causes of respiratory illness is “important for diagnosis and treatment.”

As of Thursday afternoon, more than 34,000 people in Tennessee had been tested for the coronavirus through a combination of private laboratories and the state lab in East Nashville. State health officials had tallied 2,845 positive cases, mostly in the Nashville and Memphis metro areas, and 32 deaths.

Bean, who like millions of Tennesseans is now social distancing at home, said his primary concern is that while coronavirus testing may be free, the cost of other tests may dissuade some from being tested.

“I think we really want to encourage people getting tests, and I think it’s the right thing to do to slow the spread of the virus," Bean said. "If people are going to be getting large bills afterwards, then that’s going to be a barrier for a lot of people to get tested."

Brett Kelman is the health care reporter for The Tennessean. He can be reached at 615-259-8287 or at brett.kelman@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter at @brettkelman